But then Axel saw something unexpected. He squinted. He leaned his face closer to the tablet. No! It can’t be. Dead center in the picture of the Duvall family. Lucy. Shewasa Duvall. She was a daughter in a Designer family. Royalty. His mouth fell open for a minute as he took in the distressing information.
“What’s wrong?” Ria asked.
“Lucy’s in the middle. She’s in the picture. I can’t believe it. Sheisa Duvall.”
“I hate to be the one to remind you, but all of the Duvall sisters have arranged marriages. Every single one of them. The family brags about it.”
He closed his eyes and shook his head. “What am I gonna do?”
Ria put a hand on his shoulder. “What do you want to do?”
Axel opened his eyes with an added measure of spunk. “I want to marry Lucy Duvall. Arranged marriage or not, Iwillmarry her, no matter what it takes.”
Lucy was crushed. Emotionally crushed. Her heart ached. She couldn’t breathe. She couldn’t think. What was she going to do? Francine could not marry Axel Grey. She just could not.
“Lucinda, I am speaking to you.” Her mother stood in front of her with that look on her face. The look that said she needed to behave and get with the program. Well, Lucy didn’t want to behave or get withanyprogram that said her sister was supposed to marry the man she was falling for.
“What if I’m in love with Axel Grey?”
Adeline Duvall huffed. “Love? You’re in love with someone you only met today?”
“I didn’t meet him today. We met ten days ago when theRoyal Caldera Fortedocked.”
“You barely know him.”
“What can I say, Mother? I knew he was special the moment we met. I was half in love the moment we danced.”
Her mother looked scandalized. “You danced with your sister’s future bridegroom?”
“Well, I didn’t know he was promised to Francine, did I?”
“Do not take that attitude with me, Lucinda.”
“I don’t know what other attitude to take with you, Mother. It has suddenly become clear to me why so many people my age hate arranged marriages. It’s barbaric. It’s wildly unfair. I do not want to marry some stranger. In fact, I do not want to marry anyone except Axel Grey. And I thinkyoushould be the one to worry about it notme. Because hear me when I say I willnevermarry the man you have selected for me. I will only marry Axel Grey. The end.”
“Lucinda, your father and I—”
Lucy closed her eyes and turned her back on her mother. “I don’t want to hear your fanciful explanations for why I need to marry some stranger I’ve never met and I don’t love.”
She heard her mother push out a long sigh. A very long,angrysigh. However, Lucy wasn’t going to give in.
“Lucinda, I understand this is an overwhelming situation. Therefore, I will give you some time to accept your fate. Your sister Francine is in an arranged marriage with Axel Zebulon Grey. It has been arranged for more than two decades. I know this is new information, however, you need to get used to the idea. It’s not going to change.
“Do you want to hear about the young man we have chosen foryourarranged marriage? I truly think you’ll like him. Or do you need some more time to think about it?”
“There is no amount of time in which I will change my mind. So sure, you can tell me about the man I willnotmarry.” Lucy turned to face her mother, arms crossed. She stared directly into her mother’s surprised gaze. She expected the older woman to be angrier, but she was obviously taken off guard by Lucy’s new bold attitude.
“It’s true. You don’t have to marry the young man we’ve chosen for you. But then you would be cast out of our household forever. Is that what you want?”
Lucy rolled her eyes. That was a popular threat.Do what we say or we’ll kick you out onto the street or out of the protected sphere into the wicked dangerous Outer Basin deserts of Alpha-Prime.
“What I want is to marry Axel Grey. How can we makethathappen?”
“Don’t be foolish, Lucinda. That will not happen. Get that idea out of your head right now.”
“No. I don’t want to. I love him.”
